As my time abroad comes to a close, I have now spent a little over three months living here in Denmark, experiencing the full spectrum of Danish culture. To wrap up what it means to be Danish, I will address what is arguably the most quintessential aspect of Danish society and also the reason I came to Denmark in the first place: the welfare state. I am a biology of global health major, so words like “universal voluntary healthcare” simultaneously send my heart aflutter and make me cringe at their absurdity. The welfare state in Denmark depends on an extraordinary amount of taxes (about 68 percent of income taxes), and while it would be difficult to conceive of a reality in which the United States adopts a similar system, I cannot help but think to myself about how lovely it would be to live in a society where access to healthcare is a fundamental right.
In the United States today, socioeconomic demographics are the greatest indicator of health outcomes. In Denmark, this is not the case. While relatively long waiting times challenge health systems as a result of finite resources, for the most part, patients receive the appropriate and effective care that they need. Not only that, but 98 percent of the Danish population has a general practitioner (including the queen of Denmark!). Due to government-subsidized prescription drugs, chronic conditions do not send families into bankruptcy, and hospitals receive adequate funding, which allows them to focus their efforts on continuous quality improvement rather than constantly cutting services. New initiatives, such as the October 2016 Extended Free Choice law, which allows patients to receive treatment at a private hospital after a period of 30 days, constantly challenge the system to improve and provide the best care for patients.
An immediate, obvious observation one can make about Denmark after spending only a day here is that quality of life is much higher than average. The combined features of the welfare state, which provide a life-long safety net to all Danes, contribute to a greater sense of security and well-being for all. From a young age, citizens are taken care of by the state. Normally paid for by parents and school systems in America, daycare is completely free here, even during an individual’s college years. In college, students are given a monthly stipend to offset the costs of living in an apartment away from their parents. When I explained the costs of private school education to my host brother and his friends, their jaws dropped to the floor in an instant, and understandably so. I felt a combination of guilt and gratitude as I described to my host parents how my middle-class parents spent their entire lives saving money so that I could have the opportunity to attend a university like Georgetown.
In reference to this welfare system rooted in the values of universalism, one Dane who was interviewed for Phil Zuckerman’s book Society without God (2010) observed the results of the Danish value system: “Those ethics has [sic] transferred more into a social ideology…which says: it’s rational. It’s more rational that we get all people education, because if we give all people education, then you have a society—then it will be better for all of us” (p. 151). This somewhat simplistic logic makes more sense to me the more time I spend in Denmark.
It is a difficult time to be abroad as an American student. In the past month, I have encountered the same question over and over: What do you think of the election results? A month ago, if you had asked me whether or not I wanted to stay in Denmark for an entire year, my answer would be a resounding yes. Now, after spending the last month struggling to defend my country and its values to Danes despite all of the frustration and hatred that this election has ignited, all I want is to be at home on the Hilltop. In the face of a wonderful welfare state that appears to solve every problem, I sometimes forget how wonderful my own country is. But now, upon reflection of everything I have learned this semester and in the face of imminent change, I see an opportunity for growth and improvement among us all.
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